Castlevania Zero
by Reiku Hiteruo
Summary: An X series-Castlevania crossover taking place between Sigma's final defeat and the Elf Wars. With Sigma gone, an ancient evil has risen to take his place—and a dying Zero drifts between savior, and destroyer.
1. Introduction, Prologue

Hi there, finally coming back to this after a several-year hiatus. Special thanks to Laryna6 for getting me back to working on this story!

The concepts have been brewing in the back of my head all this time, and hopefully my writing has improved enough that I can do the story justice this time around.

A few quick notes: The reference to "Sky Raven's wind slash" is not a mistake or mistranslation. I began writing this before Mega Man X7 came out, and I still haven't played X7 or X8. Sky Raven and his Wind Slash technique were an idea I came up with on my own, so I find the similarity to X7's Wind Crowang and his Wind Cutter weapon pretty—interesting. I thought about changing the names after I found out about them, but honestly I prefer to not have an ace maverick hunter "cutting wind" in my story. Thanks.

Also, after much debate I've decided to generally ignore the X-series games after X5 for purposes of this story. I'm trying to keep it as cannon-friendly as possible, and will still be tying in the events from the Megaman Zero games, but IMO the plot comes out cleaner without trying to shoehorn in the games made after Keiji Inafune left the series. That's not to say the events of the later games couldn't have happened in the same continuity as this story—just that you're unlikely to see a direct reference to them.

Finally, each chapter has a soundtrack, which will be listed at the beginning of the chapter. These songs are all remixes of videogame music, and are provided by their respective artists for free download at the OverClocked ReMix website. Due to text formatting issues, I can't include the web address for the site, but a quick search should find it.

I highly recommend listening to the songs while you read this story—as that's how it is intended to be experienced—but if you are unable to find the OC Remix site or a specific song please contact me and I will e-mail you a link.

Now, on with the show...

—Reiku Hiteruo

* * *

Soundtrack: Mega Man X 'Sigmatism' OC ReMix by Mellogear

* * *

**Prologue:**

—

Zero hurried through the darkened hallway, his breath passing in and out of his mechanical body with a soft whirring sound—bringing a cooling sensation to his internal systems. The lines of his armor looked lean and feral in the half-light, blue eyes glinting beneath the false brow of his helmet, which swept back like the wings of a hawk. He moved in a shadowed blur of red and white, the black bodysuit beneath his armor vanishing into the darkness as his massive ponytail streamed behind him like a mane of golden fire.

_Sigma's room should be just ahead,_ he thought.

How many times had he faced him? He could not remember. The endless years of battle ran together in his mind, blurring into a haze of violence and bloodlust.

_Bloodlust?_

Yes. Though he could never admit it to anyone, Zero had more in common with the mavericks than the hunters. Everyone was awed by his ferocity and bravery, but they never guessed at what drove him to fight that way—charging into battle head on with no concern for his own safety…

…In his heart, he was still a maverick.

The desire to destroy human life had been burned into every circuit in Zero's body. He would never be free of it—but he had made his choice. Instead, he took out his frustration on the mavericks who killed freely—and waited to die. What the other hunters took for bravery was in fact the closest thing to suicide that a warrior like Zero was capable of:

He would make no allowances for defense or safety. He would only _**fight**__—_with everything he had—until he met his end in battle.

Through the darkness, he could see the gate ahead of him—a hyperalloy blast door as thick as a bank vault.

_They always have gates, _he thought with a sneer. _They are nothing like me. They slaughter those weak humans by the thousands—but when faced with a __real__ opponent, they hide in their rooms and lock the door._

The radio beeped inside his mind. It was Alia.

"Zero, this is hunter base. The anomalous readings seem to be coming from the next room. Something is drawing the virus towards that location—the concentration is off the scale! I'm sending X to help you, he should arrive in—"

_Annoying as usual, _Zero thought, closing the channel. He wouldn't involve X in this fight. There was no reason to. Drawing his saber, the number-one maverick hunter fired the dash-boosters in his feet…

"_Time to stop cowering, Sigma!"_

Rocketing forward, he slashed upwards diagonally, barrel rolled in mid-air, and slashed down from the other side—cutting an X into the gate. Slamming into it at full speed, the blast door buckled, breaking into four triangular pieces. Zero flew into the room and stopped, waiting. It was pitch black, and the only sounds were the steady whir of his breathing and the hum of his energy blade.

"Zero! How good of you to come."

Sigma's voice drifted down from somewhere above, deep and melodic—almost hypnotizing. Zero looked up, and saw the maverick leader's latest incarnation. He was hovering in mid-air, about thirty feet up. His new body was hidden by a black cloak, but Zero's sensors picked up an enormous energy reading from it.

"I see you've improved the shippuga technique, Slash Beast would be proud—if you hadn't killed him." The maverick leader observed as he floated to the ground.

Zero slashed upward with his saber, sending out a wave of scything energy. The glowing arc struck, and Sigma's cloak fell to the ground in two pieces—empty.

"And you also seem to have mastered Sky Raven's wind slash—impressive." Sigma called from Zero's right, taunting him.

Zero's old enemy looked much like his previous humanoid forms. His face still bore the characteristic smirk and the long, vertical grooves over each eye—but this time his armor was molded to the contours of his body, making it look like a white and purple leotard. Two rows of cylindrical capacitors jutted from the back of each shoulder blade, and four-chamber plasma cannons bulged on each forearm. The cannons flared out in a bell shape, looking as though someone had cut two normal X-Busters in half lengthwise, and fused each half to opposite sides of his arm.

Sigma's eyes glowed, shooting out white hot beams. Zero jumped over the beams and air-dashed towards him, turning in mid air and slashing down from behind—but the evil maverick vanished.

A high pitched whine sounded behind him, and Zero spun out of the way as Sigma fired one of his arm-cannons at point blank range. A three foot wide beam of plasma tore through the air where Zero's head had been, searing his cheek. Still in mid spin, he slashed at Sigma with his saber—but the maverick vanished again before the blow could land.

Sigma reappeared across the room, hovering a few feet off the ground with his massive arm-cannons folded across his chest. "I've gotten a good deal faster since the last time we fought." He said smugly.

"You're still the same," Zero spat, "All you can do is run."

After that, there were no more words. Sigma zipped around the room so quickly it seemed like he was teleporting, firing his cannons and dodging Zero's counterattacks—but despite his superior speed he was unable to connect with any of his blasts.

Changing tactics, Zero charged his weapon energy to maximum and air dashed towards Sigma, slashing down with his saber from above. Again the maverick vanished, but as his slash missed, Zero continued the downward motion—landing on one knee and slamming his left fist into the ground.

A dome of blue light enveloped the hunter as he unleashed the lethal power stored in his systems. Blasts ripped out of the floor all around him, filling the room with searing light. Unable to dodge them all, Sigma reappeared on the far side of the room as he was struck by three glowing orbs of plasma.

Seizing the opportunity, Zero leaped towards his opponent, crossing the room and delivering a corkscrewing double-slash with his improved shippuga attack. As he landed, Zero twisted and slashed upwards—leaping into the air as he struck—and then slashed straight down as he began to fall.

Landing in a low crouch, his saber held out in front of him, the red hunter watched as Sigma crashed to the floor face down. Smoke rose from the jet vents in the fallen reploid's boots, carrying the ozone-tinged smell of melting circuitry.

_Almost as sweet as burning flesh._ Zero thought as he lunged forward in a thrusting attack. "You can't run anymore Sigma!" he screamed, the battle-fury coursing through his circuits.

Sigma raised himself on his right arm and aimed his left buster. Zero spun to avoid the blast, but instead of a focused beam the cannon released a spray of smaller energy blasts—catching him in the back as he turned.

He ignored the damage and continued his attack, spinning around and slashing in a wide arc with his saber. The plasma blade burned through armor and circuits like a giant welding torch—severing Sigma's left arm at the elbow.

With a feral grin, Zero slashed down, aiming for his enemy's head—but the wounded maverick managed to sit up and raise his right arm, using the beam from his remaining cannon to deflect Zero's saber.

Cutting into the plasma beam was like sticking a hand in the stream from a firehose. The backlash threw Zero across the room, nearly ripping the saber out of his hands. He hit the ground and rolled to a kneeling position as Sigma pressed the attack—his buster now constantly firing as he swung the huge beam like a mile-long energy blade.

Unable to block the beam with his saber, Zero was forced on to the defensive—dodging and weaving as the massive plasma beam swept the room.

_How can he keep firing like that?_ Zero wondered. _A buster that powerful shouldn't be capable of continuous fire without—__**of course!**_

He ducked as the beam passed overhead, and lunged forward—thrusting the beam of his Z-Saber through Sigma's left shoulder. The row of capacitors on his shoulder blade exploded, and the beam from his arm cannon began to sputter. Smoke rose from the capacitor bank on Sigma's right shoulder as they burned out—unable to power the weapon continuously without the other set.

Snarling in fury, Sigma glared at Zero and fired his eye-beams point-blank. The red hunter ripped his saber out of Sigma's shoulder in an arc, intercepting the beams and reflecting them back into Sigma's eyes—blowing the top half of his head off.

"_Hoo!"_

"_Haa!"_

"_Hoooah!"_

Zero slashed Sigma's body with two diagonal cuts and followed up with a powerful overhead strike—splitting him in half from head to toe. Explosions ripped through the maverick's shattered corpse as millions of micro-reactors failed—cascading into a blinding nuclear flash.

Zero waited.

_There will be more… _he thought, tightening his grip on the saber. _There's __always__ more…_

A sinister laugh filled the room. Somewhere in the darkness a wall slid open and the lights slowly faded on to reveal a giant replica of Sigma's head sticking out of the floor. His booming voice echoed through the open space, the vibrations resonating disturbingly through Zero's body.

"**You fight so well Zero! Even without the virus powering your systems…"**

…glowing blue eyes locked on Zero's…

"…**and yet with it your power would be even greater. I know you feel the same way about those worthless vermin as I do—why do you stand against me? We both know it is your destiny to join me in exterminating the human race—it's what you were created to do: If he couldn't have the world, then no one would."**

The monstrous face shuddered as a large W appeared in the crystal on its forehead, pulsing with violet light. The voice began to shift, its smooth rumble changing into the harsh tones of a strict and bitter old man.

"**Why do you fight me, Zero? You are my greatest creation, and yet you have also been the greatest disappointment of all. Forcing me to take refuge in this substandard copy of Light's work—how can you be so cruel to your father?"**

The thundering voice shook the floor—or was it Zero's body that was shaking?

"…**And to yourself? To deny your very purpose? Your reason to exist? I know firsthand how badly you wish to kill humans—why do you deny yourself that which you desire most?"**

Trembling arms clenched into fists. Nanite-laden blood pulsed faster. _"Shut up old man!"_ Zero screamed, a ragged ache tearing through him. _"I'll never let you control me again!"_

He leapt at the grinning head, raising his saber as white-hot power flooded his circuits. A deep breath sent fresh hydrogen to the fusion reactors throughout his body, turning the surge of energy into a steady flow…

"_I'm sending you back to __hell__!"_

Zero slashed down, aiming at the W on Sigma's forehead—but before he could connect, the head leered up at him, and spoke again in Sigma's voice:

"**So, you've made your choice—**_**then taste the power you would deny yourself!"**_

The gem on Sigma's forehead glowed, and viral energy poured from his body in a wave of violet light. The building shook as a corona of power formed around the giant maverick, and the floor crumbled away to reveal Sigma's new form in its entirety.

In a flash, Zero's sensors analyzed the scene before him: Giant energy condensers, drawing in billions of copies of the virus from all over the world, and channeling them all into Sigma's new form.

The viral energy continued to pour in, each copy adding its power to Sigma's—until all the copies on the entire planet had been absorbed. Only the lingering traces of the virus in Zero's systems remained, and he could feel that energy pulling towards Sigma like water towards a full moon.

The gargantuan maverick opened his mouth, and Zero fell towards it, still in the process of slashing down. A massive surge of power began to build in Sigma's body, and he could see the blast as it traveled up the cannon barrel of Sigma's throat.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move, shining with incandescent light…

_X? But what's this power coming from him—it's as strong as Sigma's! Could they have finished that program—the "Cyber Elf"?_

_No! They were modeling it after the maverick virus, X's system won't be able to handle it—__**only I can!**_

Sigma fired his blast, and sheer power ripped through Zero's body—sending the charred and mangled remains of his head and torso flying through the air. As his hearing faded, he heard X's anguished cry—and sensed the terrible light of the cyber-elf building in him as he launched himself at Sigma…

* * *

Next: Resurrection – Act 1


	2. Resurrection – Act 1

Soundtrack: Mega Man X 'The Zero Sacrifice' OC ReMix by Vigilante

* * *

**Resurrection – Act 1:**

—

Zero opened his eyes slowly. _That dream, again—the one where I kill Dr. Wily…_

Something felt odd, but he couldn't quite place it.

_The dream was so real this time, usually it's just a jumble of images—but this was more like a complete memory…_

Zero blinked.

_Yes, it is a complete memory now—the fragmentation is gone. I remember everything._

_Dr. Willy activated me, told me to kill Dr. Light—and then he infected me with the virus. It took over, and the next thing I knew, I was in an unfamiliar lab surrounded by the bodies of robots—only…_

Only one of the bodies was human.

_It did something to me, seeing that—smelling his blood on my hands. It awakened something inside me, and I lost control. I ran back to Wily's fortress, destroying everything in my path. I made my way to the lab—and I attacked him…_

…_but there was another robot there, a blue robot. It looked kind of like X, without his armor. It tried to stop me—there was something in its eyes, so sorrowful and desperate—but I was too strong, too adaptable, too…_

… _too human. It was just a robot, limited to pre-programmed attack patterns, and its power was nothing compared to mine. I tore him apart, and then I…_

Zero stared up at the sky.

_I've been rebuilt so many times. I always thought the holes in my memory were just a result of all the damage I've taken—but why would they return now?_

A cloud passed slowly overhead, dyed blood red by the morning sun.

_The sky…_

Suddenly, Zero sat up. "What am I doing outside?" he asked aloud.

Looking around, he saw that he was partially buried in a pile of rubble. His head and one arm had lifted clear of the surface when he sat up, but the rest of his body disappeared into the twisted scrap. A moment of panic shot through his circuits, but an internal diagnostic confirmed he was intact even as he struggled to pull free.

It took far more effort than it should have to drag himself to the surface. For long moments he lay panting, trying to recover enough hydrogen to restore power to his systems. His energy level rose with agonizing slowness. Instead of watching the meter creep up from the red line, Zero focused on scanning the area—attempting to piece together what had happened.

As always, he watched for enemies. No one would catch him unaware, especially not in _this_ condition.

Facts drifted in to his semi-awake brain, assembled by assist programs that operated independently of his consciousness: The debris stretched for almost a mile—probably the remains of a large structure. Whatever it was had collapsed, apparently with Zero inside it. He must have been injured, stuck in repair mode when the building came down. His autopilot program would have driven him toward the surface, towards air and sunlight.

Like most reploids, Zero needed a steady supply of hydrogen to synthesize into deuterium/tritium fuel. Without a hydrogen-rich medium like air or water to breathe, his fusion reactors would shut down. Solar or thermal power might be enough to keep his recovery nanites active, but there wouldn't be much of _that_ under a pile of rubble either—and what was the point of being repaired if you didn't have the energy to start up?

_It wouldn't be the first time that's happened._ Zero thought grimly.

Centuries ago, Dr. Wily's death had activated a failsafe system in his fortress. It was supposed to look like a self-destruct, but was only intended to bury the fortress—allowing time for the automated systems to complete Zero's construction. But something had gone wrong, and he was trapped inside—without power—until a team of reploids had opened the ruins to air…

Zero shook his head. It was strange to suddenly have all this information. Disorienting. It was as if it had been there all along, but he could remember not knowing—being unable to remember who he was or where he had come from. Even his first battle with Sigma had been only fragments of data—now a part of him was analyzing his performance, looking for ways it could be improved…

_I was so _raw_ back then—but I'd been incomplete and barely conscious at the time. The virus was doing most of the thinking, and even it had dwindled to little more than a spark of malevolence after all those years of confinement…_

Something was wrong.

Zero put a hand to his head. Even though his reactors were now reading one-hundred percent, his body still felt sluggish and his mind hazy—as if he were running low on power.

"The virus!" Zero shouted, realization finally dawning on him. He closed his eyes and checked his internal systems. _There's the usual post-reconstruction upgrades, everything seems operational, but my combat system's been reset—and there's no sign of the virus in my systems!_

A reset combat system was normal after major reconstruction. Zero's systems were constantly evolving, analyzing and adapting his software and mechanical systems to remain permanently state-of-the-art. But evolution had its dead ends. To prevent that, Zero's repair system would return him to a baseline state if he was ever critically damaged—allowing him to take another evolutionary path. His baseline schematics evolved too, but that was a much slower and more careful process.

It wasn't surprising to find that some systems had changed, but it was _unthinkable_ to find the virus missing. It was the backbone of his repair system, and critically essential to most of his major functions. Without it he couldn't even maintain basic reactor efficiency—which was exactly what his diagnostic said was happening.

Zero turned his sensors outward, scanning a far as he could.

_There's no trace of the virus anywhere!_

Memories of the recent battle flooded back to him: The fight with Sigma, the virus that carried Dr. Wily's consciousness, the energy blast tearing through him—and X…

_X! __What happened to him?_

Zero switched his scan to look for X instead of the virus—searching for the distinctive energy pattern unique to his systems…

Again he found nothing.

_So X is gone._ Zero thought, feeling strangely detached. _The virus, Sigma, X—they're all gone. Every constant in my life has disappeared—except for me…_

A faint breeze began to blow, like the whisper of a ghost, as Zero slowly got to his feet.

_At any rate, I won't be here for long. Without the virus to help power my systems I'll gradually lose energy until I shut down. With the upgrades I get from destroying mavericks I might have been able to last another thirty years or so, but there won't be any more mavericks—just the occasional malfunctioning reploid._

A crooked, bitter smile spread slowly over Zero's face.

"The war is finally over." He said aloud. "I might as well head back to base and give them the good news."

With that, Zero turned and started walking back towards Maverick Hunter headquarters.

* * *

Next: Resurrection – Act 2


	3. Resurrection – Act 2

Soundtrack: Mega Man 4 'Shades of Blue' OC ReMix by Psychrophyte

* * *

**Resurrection – Act 2:**

—

Zero arrived at Hunter Base looking tired and covered with dust. He could have used his emergency transport system, but that required a lot of energy—and his was now a finite supply.

As he entered the building, Alia came running down the hallway from the opposite direction. Her blue eyes were clouded with worry, and words spilled from her mouth in an overwhelming flood.

"Zero, you're okay! What happened? Where is X? The readings on the maverick virus disappeared, but we couldn't reach either of you and we—"

Zero's look stopped her in mid-sentence.

"X is gone." He said matter-of-factly. "The Cyber Elf program was too much for him."

Alia's face fell, becoming quiet and hesitant. "We thought—with his armor—if we ran it through the Nova Strike …"

"He wasn't designed to operate with something like that." Zero said, cutting her off again.

_And I wasn't designed to operate without it._ He thought pensively.

The energy loss was getting worse, intensifying his already abrupt personality. He needed to recharge and get some rest. He didn't have time to play catch-up and answer her innumerable questions—there'd be enough of that later.

Zero started to walk off again, but Alia chased after him.

"Wait, Zero! Where are you going?"

He turned to glare at the operator, causing her to take a step back. She could be so obnoxiously human at times…

"Sigma is dead." He told her, sounding more tired than annoyed. "The maverick virus has been wiped out, and the war is over…" He turned and started walking again.

"…now I need to rest." He called over his shoulder, heading off towards the recharging bays.

* * *

DWN-00 restarting…

Systems Check…

ALERT! – Currently running Prototype Configuration, some systems not available!

ALERT! – Z-Buster Disabled! Melee Combat Mode only!

ERROR – Critical Failure in AI System, Unable to Load Personality Data!

Aborting to Mainframe Backup…

ERROR – Backup Not Found, Mainframe Damaged!

ALERT! – Security Breach Detected!

Downloading Automated Defense Protocols…

He could see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing. His awareness was a dim light in a sea of darkness. If he had been human, he might have likened it to those moments when one stirs in the middle of the night—not yet awake, but unable to continue dreaming.

He wanted to keep sleeping, but some part of him rebelled—fought for consciousness. Why? Why did he need to wake up? It was so peaceful here…

Distantly, he began to hear sounds—clanging, crashing, laughing. There was another light here, growing stronger. He didn't like it. Was that why he had to wake up?

The light was wrong, very wrong. As it grew he felt himself receding, drifting back into the darkness. It was consuming him. The other light was trying to wake up in _his_ body! He had to get there first—had to wake up before it did…

Light.

Pain.

Screaming.

Darkness.

* * *

Zero woke to a rhythmic clanging sound, punctuated by muffled exhalations. The lid of his recharging capsule slid back to reveal a muscular reploid striking a large metal ball, keeping it airborne with punches and kicks.

"Gamma…" Zero said, recognizing the figure, "…why do you do that?"

The veteran hunter caught the ball in mid-air and tucked it under his arm as he turned to face him. "It keeps my targeting system sharp," he replied with a grin. "Even we reploids can benefit from working out now and then."

Gamma was an old reploid, and unlike most he looked his age: Shoulder-length white hair and a short gray beard framed a weathered face that spoke of wisdom gained from a life on the battlefield. His dark eyes sparkled with the odd humor of one who'd stared death in the face and then kicked it in the nuts. Zero smiled at his old friend, the second in command of the #0 hunter unit.

"You here to keep an eye on me?" Zero asked.

It was an old joke between them—going back to when he had first joined the maverick hunters. Gamma had led the first team sent in after Zero's discovery, and was the only member to survive. When Zero was later accepted into the hunters, Gama had demanded a transfer to the same unit so he could 'Keep an eye on the maverick that killed my men.'

"Nah, Zero," Gamma chuckled in reply, "I just wanted to be here when you got up. Signas has orders for you to visit the infirmary for a diagnostic."

Zero scowled. "Tell him it's a waste of time."

"I told him you'd say that," Gama answered, his grin growing wider. "He said to tell you that you're going to the infirmary even if he has to get your whole unit to carry you there. Apparently he wants to make sure there's no trace of the virus lurking in your systems, though of course, he'd never say that."

"No, I guess not." Zero sighed in resignation.

Looking up, he noticed the jagged line running from the tip of Gama's jaw to the top of his ear. "Why is it Gama?" He asked. "You and Sigma, you never removed the scars I gave you in our first fight."

Gama raised a hand and ran his thumb thoughtfully over the line in his face, tracing the path Zero's fist had taken years earlier. "It's 'cause we're warriors Zero, you oughtta' understand that. When you face a worthy opponent, a mark like this is a badge of pride."

A look of seriousness came over his face. "He's really gone this time isn't he?"

Zero nodded slowly. "Yeah."

He started to leave, but turned at the doorway—looking back at Gamma over his shoulder. "Why didn't you go with him, during the first maverick war?"

The old hunter grinned again. "Well, there was this human girl—used to work down at this nightclub…"

"I mean it." Zero said, cutting him off.

Seeing the look in his commander's eyes, Gamma shrugged. "Warriors don't change sides." He answered simply. "I don't know what kind of demon possessed Sigma to make him forget that…"

The insinuation hung between them, unspoken. Zero paused, a distant look coming over his face.

"The same one that possessed me," he replied softly. "He beat it out of me, and then took it into himself. He didn't forget Gama, he died. I never got to meet the Sigma you knew."

"An exorcism eh?" said the old warrior, a trace of a smile returning to his face. "That mean you're pure of heart now?"

"No." Zero shook his head slowly, matching his friend's smile. "I'm a demon all by myself."

With that, he turned and left for the infirmary.

Zero drifted through the corridors of the hunter base lost in thought. A tiny red spark glowed in the back of his mind, the germ of an idea not quite developed enough to put into words. As he contemplated it, he began to grow irritated—something about this growing feeling scared him, and he couldn't figure out why.

…_and yet, it also makes me feel…_

…_excited._

By the time Zero arrived at the infirmary, he was already in a very bad mood. He _hated_ these scans, and the irritation of being forced to go through one only added to the growing storm inside of him. More than that, he had a personal dislike for hunter base's medical control officer.

Aside from his pretentious name, Lifesaver's design was alien and disturbing—an affront to reploid individuality. Although it looked like a normal humanoid model, his body was mass produced, and the electronic brains were linked together to form a vast communal network. This hive mind had its advantages—allowing him to process information more rapidly and act as a sentient medical database—but it made the doctor's personality flat and inhuman. Whenever he dealt with him, Zero felt as though he were being studied by some malevolent insect.

He felt that way now, sitting on the examination table staring into Lifesaver's flat, unblinking eyes. The white reploid wore a concerned expression on his face, and he spoke with unusual pauses—a sign of his distributed consciousness.

"I'm not detecting any signs of the virus in your systems... or in any other reploids... However... I'm concerned about the readings from your power generation system. It seems as though..."

Zero wasn't in the mood to put up with the doctor's bedside manner. "You're detecting a drop in reactor efficiency." He said impatiently.

Lifesaver gave him an annoyed look, as if he were dealing with a troublesome child. "Well, yes..."

"It's because of the virus." Zero said, cutting him off again. "My systems were designed to constantly be in overdrive. Without the extra energy from the virus my internal reactors can't keep up—and the strain is slowly burning them out."

It was strange watching the flustered look spread over the medical officer's features. Parts of his face seemed to lag behind, while in others the expression twitched into place almost spasmodically. "You... were... _designed_ to incorporate the virus?" he demanded, incredulous. The lag in his speech had worsened, almost becoming a stutter.

"Don't act so shocked." Zero said coldly. "You've suspected as much for some time now—or did you think I didn't know about your reports to Signas, your recommendations that I be removed from active duty during the Space Colony incident?"

Lifesaver looked stricken—Zero's temper was well known among the people who worked at Maverick Hunter HQ.

"Kind of hard for me _not_ to know," Zero continued, "after you and X tried to bring me in for a virus-check in the middle of a mission."

He paused, breaking into a malicious grin. "As I recall, I gave you two quite a beating for that."

Lifesaver's face went rigid. _Probably calculating how many bodies he'd need to restrain me. _Zero thought. It felt nice to be the one making _him_ uncomfortable for a change.

A part of Zero's mind—the part that was always calculating odds and combat strategies—had determined he could take this copy of Lifesaver apart and flee the base before a sufficient force could be mounted to stop him, but what would be the point? Eventually he'd wind down like an old clock anyway. Throwing himself against a superior force was immensely preferable to spending his last days on the run. The problem was finding a force that could do it.

Lifesaver regarded the red maverick hunter cautiously, watching for signs of violence and copying his onboard memory to other nodes in his network—just in case. Finally satisfied that Zero wasn't going to kill him at that moment, he regained his composure and continued the evaluation.

"Then... what will you do? No one here understands your systems well enough to do much more than... put your parts back together in the correct order... If the problem is systemic... and your reactor is failing..."

"Then I'll die." Zero finished. "It's no big deal—with Sigma destroyed and the maverick wars finally over…" He shrugged. "…I'd die of boredom anyways." With that, Zero got up and walked out of the room, leaving Lifesaver staring after him with a thoughtful expression on his face.

* * *

Next: Resurrection – Act 3


End file.
